Ready, Set, Grow: India wins investment attractiveness race

India has been ranked the most attractive destination for investments for at least the next three years.Ernst & Young's (EY) 'Ready, Set, Grow: India Attractiveness Survey 2015', conducted during March and April 2015, includes the views of more than 500 decision-makers from multinational organisations across sectors like automotive, consumer products, life sciences, infrastructure, technology, financial services and others.Thirty-two per cent of the business leaders from global corporations who were polled for the survey said India is the most attractive investment destination in the world, followed by China, Southeast Asia and Brazil.Mark Otty, EY area managing partner for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, said: “There is no doubt that interest in India has increased. Investors increasingly see the potential and understand the fundamentals.”Speaking at the launch of the report this week, Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said the government was determined to make India an extremely easy and simple place to do business.He said: “Our first priority is to do away with the many procedures and rules, followed by bringing in consistency and clarity in all our policies and tax regime and developing a world-class infrastructure.”Among specific reforms expected to drive growth, 89 per cent of the investors said that investment in infrastructure projects and the 100 Smart Cities project would be significant, while both financial inclusion, including Digital India and proposed corporate tax reduction from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, were considered significant by 83 per cent of the respondents. Implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and legislation on land acquisition were also mentioned by investors as important for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).Within six months of its launch in September 2014, the Indian Government's Make in India program seems to have resonated with investors, with 55 per cent of respondents saying that they are aware of the initiative. Those aware of Make in India are more upbeat about expansion plans, with 70 per cent stating that they are likely to expand or relocate their manufacturing facilities to India in the next five years.